Saudi-Egyptian meeting a key moment of summit

Fence-mending efforts have been a source of major speculation due to neither country acknowledging the rift publicly.

‘Strategic alliance’. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (L) meeting with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on the sidelines of the Arab League summit, on March 29th. (AFP)

2017/04/02 Issue: 100
Page: 2

The Arab Weekly Mohammed Alkhereiji

London - Saudi Arabia continued its ef­forts to promote inter-Arab reconciliation and solidar­ity at the Arab League sum­mit, a gathering defined by a sense of urgency due to the nu­merous geopolitical, military and economic issues affecting the re­gion.

Ahead of the summit, media spec­ulated on what the meeting could deliver in terms of Arab homogene­ity, particularly in Saudi-Egyptian relations, which have cooled in re­cent months.

“Arabs at the Amman summit are at crossroads. They will either make decisions that are up to the level of events and crises or the coming situation will be worse,” Ahmed al- Gemeia wrote in Saudi Arabia’s Al- Riyadh newspaper.

Mohamed Barakat wrote in Egypt’s Al-Akhbar daily that “Arab peoples, countries, presidents, kings and princes are the only los­ers if their leaders… fail to break the ice and to overcome differences that have divided them.”

Factoring heavily in the king­dom’s agenda was the containment of Iran, which is, along with its nu­merous proxies, viewed by Gulf Arab countries as a regional destabi­lising factor, as is evident in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Bahrain.

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud had a full schedule at the Arab League gathering, including meetings with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who re­cently hosted Saudi Foreign Minis­ter Adel al-Jubeir in Baghdad in an effort to improve relations.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al- Jaafari said “ties between the two countries did not reach that point that required reconciliation and that the relations were never ever discontinued between the two in the past”.

All eyes were on the Saudi-Egyp­tian fence-mending efforts, a source of major speculation due to neither country acknowledging the rift publicly.

Tensions between the two coun­tries developed after several deals were signed during King Salman’s visit to Cairo in April 2016. One agreement called for Saudi Arabia delivering to Egypt, as a part of a $23 billion aid package, 700,000 tonnes of refined fuel a month, while Egypt was to hand over con­trol of two Red Sea islands to the kingdom, a move blocked by the Egyptian courts.

During that period, Saudi Arabia deposited $2 billion in Egypt’s cen­tral bank and helped it secure a $12 billion loan package from the Inter­national Monetary Fund.

Last October, however, the king­dom stopped oil shipments and Egypt voted for a Russian-backed, Riyadh-opposed, UN resolution on Syria, which led to a reported mas­sacre of civilians in Aleppo in De­cember. However, the kingdom has since resumed the oil shipments.

King Salman and Sisi met on the sidelines of the summit, with both sides reportedly optimistic about the results.

Jubeir, during a news conference, described the meeting as “fruitful, constructive, amicable and very positive”.

Jubeir downplayed any differenc­es over Syria, saying: “There is an exaggeration of interpreting what is called difference of the Saudi and Egyptian positions as the two coun­tries are seeking to find a political solution to the crisis according to Geneva I declaration, the UN Secu­rity Council Resolution 2254.” He said both countries were contrib­uting to a political solution to the crisis.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said the “strategic alliance between the two countries is indis­pensable for reaching stability in the region”.

A statement from the Egyptian presidency said the two leaders “stressed the importance of push­ing forward and developing bilat­eral relations in all fields” and that King Salman invited Sisi for an of­ficial visit to the kingdom, which Sisi welcomed and followed with an invitation for the king to visit Cairo.

Sisi is expected to visit Saudi Ara­bia this month.

In a thinly veiled reference to Iran, the Egyptian president said it was “regrettable that certain pow­ers are benefitting from the unprec­edented situation in the region to bolster their influence and expand their control”.

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